Gilberto Keb Baas, left, ducked under a punch from Brian Viloria during the third round yesterday in Sahuartia, Ariz.
Viloria knocks
out Keb BaasThe Waipahu boxer improves
to 15-0 with nine KOs and defends
his NABF flyweight title
Even with 15 professional fights all over the country and hundreds of amateur bouts all over the world, there are so many places Waipahu flyweight Brian Viloria has never been.
Viloria went to such a place last night and, as he has in all of his other professional matches, he came out a winner.
Viloria (15-0, nine KOs) defended his North American Boxing Federation flyweight title with an 11th-round knockout of Mexican Gilberto Keb Baas in front of a hostile crowd and ESPN2's cameras at the Desert Diamond Casino in Sahuarita, Ariz. The arena and television spotlight were like any other, but the opponent most certainly was not.
It was Viloria's ninth knockout and arguably his most impressive because it came against a guy who had the guts to challenge him and the experience to take advantage of Viloria's weaknesses.
"This guy brought out the best in me, it was an awesome fight," Viloria said in a telephone interview after the fight. "I take my hat off to him, he really made me better."
Keb Baas (22-11-1, 32 KOs) went against the prevailing opinion that a fighter has to force Viloria to chase him, walking in on the champion and taking the fight to him in each round.
That kind of confidence comes only from a fighter who took then-WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel to the limit in 2000. Viloria, who is ranked No. 4 by the WBC and WBA, accomplished what Morel couldn't against a better fighter.
The challenger was trying to avenge a loss Viloria put on his older brother on ESPN in February and dared Viloria to display the power that has been more legend than reality lately. And Keb Baas took Viloria's head shots like the power was all hype until Viloria targeted the body as he did in his amateur days.
Viloria tagged Keb Baas in the head a number of times in the fight, but it had little effect.
ESPN ringside analyst Teddy Atlas had the fight even after six rounds before the new Hawaiian Punch figured out that the only way to beat the aggressor was to go back to what made him a champion in the first place.
"He really brought it to me and made me find a way to get to his body," Viloria said. "It took me a while, but I figured it out."
Viloria finally mounted an offense in the seventh round and put away Keb Baas with just 22 seconds left in the 11th round, tagging the challenger with a left hook to the ribs that made the Mexican wince and freeze up long enough for Viloria to hit him with a few more glancing shots before seeing his prey fall.
Viloria hit his knees and raised his gloves to the sky immediately after the referee stopped the fight, showing emotion never seen in his professional career.
That is because this was like no other fight in his professional career, which figures to only get harder.
Team Viloria manager Gary Gittelsohn has been very careful in selecting Viloria's opponents despite calls from boxing analysts to put him up for a world title. After last night's performance, even Gittelsohn had to admit that it is time to isolate the flyweight champions of the world and find the one who will take a fight with the phenom.
"I think he's ready," Gittelsohn said. "What I saw tonight was nothing short of exceptional; it was everything I've dreamed of about Brian's professional advancement coming true."
Viloria says he has not talked to Gittelsohn about a world title fight yet, but that the manager has reserved an arena in Honolulu for some time in August. He has big plans for that card, believing he can get heavyweight David Tua to appear as the co-main event. Gittelsohn expects Viloria to have another fight before then, but confirmed that talks were taking place with Tua and local promoter Tom Moffatt for a date in August.
Whether the fight would be for the world title that Viloria covets is not close to being determined; whether he thinks Keb Baas prepared him to go into another situation he has never been before is without question.
"I thought I had to make this a great show and I think I did," Viloria said. "I've still got a lot of work to do in the gym, but I think I'm ready."
Viloria, who trains in Los Angeles, boarded a plane last night to return home to Oahu for his sister's graduation.
Hopkins backs off threat to pull out
LAS VEGAS » Bernard Hopkins wanted to make his point and put referee Joe Cortez on notice. In the end, though, the lure of at least $15 million and a fight with Oscar De La Hoya proved too much for him to resist.
Hopkins backed off his threat yesterday to pull out of his middleweight title defense against Robert Allen, salvaging a card that could lead to a lucrative megafight in September with De La Hoya.
Just hours before the weigh-in for today's fights, Hopkins agreed to have Cortez as the referee despite believing that Cortez may be biased against him for throwing a Puerto Rican flag to the ground to promote his fight with Felix Trinidad three years ago. Both Cortez and Trinidad are Puerto Rican.
The turnabout means Hopkins will defend his undisputed title against Allen, while De La Hoya will fight undefeated Felix Sturm of Germany on the same card tonight (3 p.m. Hawaii time, HBO pay-per-view) at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.
"They say I'm paranoid, but is it justified?" Hopkins asked. "I'll leave it to you all. What I have done, I believe, is the right thing. The world is watching now."
Associated Press
